"Self-sufficiency does not mean 'going back' to the acceptance of a lower standard of living. On the contrary, it is the striving for a higher standard of living, for food that is organically grown and good, for the good life in pleasant surroundings... and for the satisfaction that comes from doing difficult and intricate jobs well and successfully." John Seymour ~ Self Sufficiency 2003

Monday 17 February 2014

Phew!

We were watching Sky News on TV last night - the "Flood Nation" special.  My heart breaks for all of my fellow country men and women who are being affected with floods - especially given the experts saying that even if it ceased raining tomorrow, it will only be by May that the flood waters will have receded enough for life to become normal again.  That's hectic!

How are all those in England and Wales going to plant crops for this coming season?  How are they going to eradicate all the foulness that the water left behind in their houses.  How are they going to be able to afford to replace all their swollen, damaged furniture...?

And what were the authorities doing allowing dwellings to be built in flood plains, with no preventative measures in place?

My thoughts and prayers are with you all.
38oC in the
shade at
lunchtime
today
Here - it's another story.  We are praying for some rain.

We hit 38oC at lunchtime today.  And yes, that meant a couple of sprinkler sessions for the alpaca's.  Miranda is due to have her cria any day, so we are anxiously (and slightly nervously) awaiting that event.  And we are very conscious of her feeling discomfort.  So, not only did we give both of them a sprinkler session, but we also hosed down the roof of their stables, which they are more or less permanently inhabiting now :)  RMan is going to make a layer of shadecloth on top of the roof in order to prevent it becoming as hot in future.
Yay - the barometer
is sliding towards
rain...!
The hydrometer on
the top is 65o
and temperature on
the bottom is
27oC
Inside is a comfortable 27oc - thank goodness for our double volume area - all the heat rises up, and is expelled out through an upstairs window.

Our barometer is predicting rain, and just as I noticed that I heard a very distant rumble of thunder... 
It looks promising...
And our rain water tanks are in need of a good
top-up
Everything is crispy, brown and dried out.  I hope the wind doesn't blow the rain clouds away...

4 comments:

  1. I watched "Al Jazerra" news and saw about the floods in England. God help me if any of my friends see this. I will deny it all and say a hacker got on your blog and did this to discredit me! The trouble is, our news doesn't say anything about the rest of the world, and BBC makes me mad because they are always criticizing America. Al Jazerra has good news coverage, and makes no bones about being anti American, so I am not bothered by that. It's like listening to Tokyo Rose or Lord Haw Haw during world war II.

    I hope the Alpacas do ok in the heat, and that the baby is born without difficulty and is healthy.

    Al Jazerra had a segment on South Africa and a bunch of guys got stuck down a mine they were working in , when they were rescued they got arrested! Out of the frying pan, into the fire.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Harry - Nope - we didn't have any rain yesterday, but today we've had 4 mms so far - not much, but better than nothing.

      Regarding the trapped miners - they are mainly illegal immigrants / foreigners, who are trespassing in order to gain access to the dis-used mines. They go underground with little or no equipment, no proper air supply, and no protective gear. This is not the first time that illegal miners have had to be rescued - but, thankfully, this time they are still alive. The added problem is that when something like this happens, invariably the rescuers have to risk their lives in order to recover those who are stuck, or the dead bodies...

      Delete
  2. I can't wait for the arrival of the cria, you must be really excited.
    Hope you get your rain soon :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. dreamer - We, too, can't wait...

      I'll post a pic as soon as I can :)

      Delete

Thank you for taking the time to comment - it makes my day and removes the "loneliness' of sitting at my screen blogging supposedly to myself ;) I try and reply as quickly as possible so please forgive me if sometimes my response is delayed.